International cyber conference CyCon in Tallinn

The eighth International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon 2016) took place from 1-3 June in Tallinn, focusing on the theme of cyber power and how the traditional concept of power applies to cyberspace.

The conference is organised by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, and it hosts over 500 decision makers and experts from government, academia and industry from all over the world. The key themes of CyCon include legal, technological and strategic matters.

On Wednesday, the Estonian president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, opened the conference with a keynote address, saying that cyberspace had become a domain of warfare.

“In the world of cyber, geography ceases to play a role, all distances are equal,” Ilves said. With cyber conflict seemingly inevitable, democratic countries need to cooperate, he added.

Among the speakers was also the Czech defence minister, Martin Stropnicky, who emphasised that “we should be prepared for more and more allies to be targeted with greater intensity and frequently”. He added that the allies must take critical steps and develop appropriate defence capabilities, including increased defence budgets.